Manhattan Writing Workshop: Writing For Your Life

Open Letter to IWWG Members and Friends

Dear IWWG Members and Friends:

There is news! Just this past week, a circle of IWWG women, new and old, came together for a spectacular summer conference at a restful retreat and conference center, Wisdom House, in Litchfield, Connecticut. But there is more. At the same time, a new wind has swept into the IWWG with two announcements:

(1) the settlement, by joint agreement, of the lawsuit that began in 2012. (Please do not ask us for details as the terms of the settlement do not allow us to discuss it.)

(2)the decision by Executive Director Cynthia Stillwell to resign so she can follow her dream of a casting company located in her home turf: the South.

With windows now wide open and a fresh breeze entering the room, a smaller circle of women, current IWWG Board Members and esteemedlong-time and new workshop directors, have come together to form a Circle of Advisors, offering guidance and helping to make immediate decisions during these next crucial months of the IWWG’s transition to as wide and open and inclusive a circle as our dreams can lead us to imagine.

Dixie King and Judith Huge have taken on responsibility for coordinating our efforts and communications. Others with needed skills and insights will bewelcomed as we move ahead.

Some key decisions made thus far:

A Return to Wisdom House in Litchfield, Connecticut for the 2015 Summer Conference. From July 24-31, 2015 we will return to our traditional, one-week summer conference format, offering you the option of coming for the full week, for a weekend, and/or commuting. If retreat accommodations aren’t your cup of tea, a lovely local inn is also an option. Plans are already underway to arrange shared transportation from major cities, airports, and train stations. Stay tuned for information about our workshop leaders—including some welcome surprises!—course offerings, and conference pricing over the next weeks.

The FALL Big Apple will be replaced this year with other options, soon to be announced.

The SPRING Big Apple will feature our much appreciatedSusan Tiberghien, with dates soon to be announced.

More Frequent Communications Will Be Coming Your Way

Starting within the month and going forward, expect a monthly update featuring words and advice from workshop directors and members, as well as a quarterly newsletter that will be expanded in scope and function. We also now have a Facebook IWWG Member’s Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWWGmembers) where you can share your news and questions.

What Do We Mean By “Fresh Air”?

In short, we mean a new commitment to transparency and inclusion:

Board members will be happy to receive yourideas, commentary and feedback.

A financial statement will be made available to our members annually, in keeping with the best practices of other non-profits.

You will be kept posted about developments, including our fundraising efforts and their outcomes.

Last Friday evening as we joined in our closing circle to sing the familiar words, “There’s a river of birds in migration, A nation of women with words,” we were deeply aware that we had all experienced a week of change and surprise,raising our voices and being heard. We were also aware that we had entered a stage of migration, a time of transition growing out of a new sense of freedom and purpose. Our wings are no longer clipped and we have already started again to fly.

More information will be coming to you in the weeks ahead: suggestions for staying in touch in the months between our meetings and events, ways you can add your support our shared efforts toward change and renewal, and just plain information that will be fun to know.

So stay tuned and stay close. Renew or add your membership if you haven’t already done so. Let us know your wishes. Send your energy and offer your gifts. The path ahead soars upward and it is a journey we will take together.

Poetry Reading

IWWG instructor Myra Shapiro will be reading from her new book of poetry 12 Floors Above the Earth at the NYU Bookstore (726 Broadway, NYC) on Thursday, October 10 from 6PM-7:30PM with Owen Lewis. She will also be reading at the Cornelia Street Café (29 Cornelia Street, NYC) on Thursday, November 14 from 6PM-7:45PM with Wendy Larsen, Owen Lewis, Fran Quinn, and Jim Tolan.

Join Mary Beth Coudal for a three-night, four-day writing retreat in the historic Georgian manor house, Skenewood, in Westport, New York, to focus on your writing from October 17 to 20, 2013. Read more...

The International Women's Writing Guild is asking you to respond to a survey that will help us move forward with strategic planning for the future. The survey will take you between 10 and 30 minutes to complete, depending on how much time you spend in each"comments" section. Since you are writers, we've tried to give you lots of space to give us feedback in your own words.

It is with gratitude that I send to all of you-speakers, attendees, book fair participants, and agents-my message of thanks for your support, enthusiasm, inspiration, good fellowship, optimism, and hope for this wonderful organization of Guild Sisterhood. We all joined together to produce a 'full of awe' convocation. It was successful because of YOU. All of you.